Scammers are everywhere.

I am writing this to share with everyone my (almost) experience of a scam for many people to be more aware that there are scams such as the one below that uses the online shopping app, Shopee.

Today, I received a text message from Shopee saying that I’ve won a monthly prize and I have to call them by clicking the given link. At first, I thought that the message was from Shopee because it was found in my Shopee thread of messages.

When I clicked the link, it led me to the website stuffwinner. com and tells me to claim my prize (iPhone 12 Pro) by texting or calling their number and to follow the instructions that will be given.

I was skeptical, thus, with the advice of my partner, I looked at my Shopee app and check if there was a notification that I won a prize, etc. I usually go to the apps built in game corner where I gather coins and join raffles, so well, I thought to myself, I might have really won a brand new iPhone!

And then, there was NONE. My partner told me to ask the customer service to confirm if such a “raffle” is existing.

So, I went to open my app and chat with a customer service representative where I provided the screenshots and asked him to confirm if this is really from Shopee. As expected, he said that the website is not related to Shopee in any way. I told him that I also think so, thus I confirmed it via customer care. He said he will file a report about this. I asked him to file this report asap so no one gets to be victimized by this scam.

I am posting this experience for everyone to become more aware and vigilant. The scammers are everywhere, they will use everything for their own gain. They do not mind who their victims are . I also remember receiving a text message from a random number informing me that as a senior citizen, I am entitled to a particular benefit. First of all, I am not a senior citizen. Second of all, this made me realize that these scammers might have already victimized a lot of grandmothers and grandfathers who can easily fall for their scheme. I pity them, I pity the senior citizens. It really made me angry, so, I replied to the text message with a message telling them to stop victimizing the vulnerable senior citizens, because a day will come to them, asking them for payment of their evil actions.

Technology is good. It made our lives more convenient, communication became easier. But, when used for selfish, personal gains, with no remorse to anyone who might be affected by his/her actions, it becomes evil.

So, please be extra careful. Let's stay vigilant, and report these types of scams.

Sabi nga nila, wag agad-agad maniwala.